Red Lentils in Global Trade: Canada's Dominance and South Asia's Demand Story

Red vs green — two distinct markets within one commodity

Lentils are traded in two broad categories with different supply chains, buyer profiles, and price dynamics. Most of the attention in South Asian and Middle Eastern trade falls on red lentils, which dominate by volume and drive the majority of Canada's and Australia's export earnings.

This article focuses on red lentils, which represent the bulk of South Asian and Middle Eastern trade flows and are the variety that Hectar's commodity corridor sees most frequently. Red lentils are dehulled and split before export, giving them a distinctive orange colour and a much shorter cooking time than green or brown varieties — characteristics that make them the preferred pulse for everyday dal cooking across India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

Key producing and exporting countries

Red lentil supply is more concentrated than almost any other globally traded pulse. Two countries — Canada and Australia — account for the overwhelming majority of global exports, with a third tier of emerging origins beginning to challenge their combined dominance.

Canada's dominance is rooted in Saskatchewan, which accounts for roughly 90% of national lentil production. The province's semi-arid climate is ideal for lentil cultivation — warm, dry summers reduce disease pressure and allow consistent quality. Canadian production has reached close to 3 million tonnes in recent seasons, with export volumes averaging 2.1 million tonnes per year.

Australia has grown rapidly as a red lentil exporter over the past decade, with South Australia and Victoria its primary growing regions. Unlike Canada, Australian farmers have limited on-farm storage, meaning Australian lentils move to export quickly after the October-December harvest — providing a burst of supply into South Asian markets in the January-March window.

The emerging Black Sea challenge

Russia and Kazakhstan have significantly expanded red lentil production and exports in recent years, gaining share particularly in Turkey and parts of the EU. Canada's market share in India fell from 82% in 2020 to around 43% by 2023, with Australia capturing most of the displaced volume. The Black Sea origins remain a structural watch item for the medium term.

Key importing countries

India, Bangladesh, and Turkey collectively account for roughly 55% of global lentil import demand. The concentration of demand in these three markets — and the sensitivity of each to Indian tariff policy, Turkish currency movements, and Bangladeshi foreign exchange availability — makes the red lentil market prone to sharp demand swings that can move Canadian and Australian prices within weeks.

India's shifting import policy — the market's defining dynamic

As with desi chickpeas, India's management of lentil import tariffs is the single most consequential policy variable in global red lentil trade. The pattern closely mirrors the chickpea tariff cycle: open market when domestic prices are high, restrictions when domestic production is strong.

This market share shift was driven partly by Australia's rapid production growth and partly by price competitiveness. Australian lentils sold at a discount of $50-60/tonne CFR into India in several recent seasons, forcing Canadian prices lower to compete. The arrival of Australian product also coincides with post-Ramadan buying windows when Indian importers are restocking.

Tariff risk — April 2026

With India's rabi lentil crop expected to reach 1.8-2.0 million tonnes in early 2026, domestic prices are under pressure. Analysts were projecting India to raise import tariffs from 10% to as high as 30% from April 2026 to protect farmers — a move that would significantly reduce Canadian and Australian export volumes and weigh on prices for the remainder of the season.

What drives red lentil prices

• 1Saskatchewan crop conditionsSaskatchewan's lentil crop is seeded in April-May and harvested July-August. Spring and early summer rainfall determines yield. A drought-affected Canadian crop — as occurred in 2021 when production fell by a third — sharply reduces global supply and lifts prices across all origins. A bumper crop compresses prices, particularly in India.
• 2Australia's crop size and timingAustralia's lentil harvest runs October-December, delivering a burst of supply into Asian markets between January and March. In years of large Australian production, this supply pushes CFR prices in India and Bangladesh lower and can cap Canadian export premiums. Frost damage during the Australian crop's grain-fill stage is the primary weather risk to watch.
• 3India's rabi crop and MSP policyIndia grows lentils as a rabi crop, harvested March-April. A large domestic harvest puts downward pressure on mandi prices and prompts the government to reimpose import duties to protect farmer incomes. The gap between market prices and the MSP — currently a live concern — is the most reliable predictor of tariff action.
• 4Ramadan demand cyclePulse demand in Bangladesh, Pakistan, the UAE, and across the Gulf rises sharply in the months before Ramadan. Canadian exporters build forward sales from October through January for shipment ahead of this window. Post-Ramadan, demand softens and Indian importers typically restock at lower prices — creating a predictable seasonal price dip from April to June.
• 5Black Sea origin competitionRussia and Kazakhstan have expanded red lentil acreage significantly in recent years, gaining share in Turkey and pushing into markets traditionally supplied by Canada. Their price competitiveness — particularly for lower-specification product — acts as a ceiling on Canadian and Australian pricing in markets where quality requirements are less stringent.
• 6Plant-based protein demandGlobal demand for red lentils as a plant protein ingredient is growing in the EU, North America, and Southeast Asia. Lentil flour, red lentil pasta, and protein isolates are expanding the commodity's demand base beyond traditional South Asian dal markets, providing a structural long-term demand driver.

Seasonal patterns

The red lentil calendar has three distinct supply pulses: the Canadian harvest in summer, the Australian harvest in late autumn, and India's rabi crop in spring. Together they create a broadly continuous supply flow, but the months between Canadian harvest and Australian arrival — roughly September to November — can be tight if the Canadian crop is below average.

The most important price window in the red lentil calendar is October through February. Canadian new-crop supply has moved to export, Australian product is arriving, and Ramadan procurement is building. Buyers who delay into March risk competing with other importers for remaining available tonnes just as India's tariff intentions for the next fiscal year become clearer.

What to watch in the red lentil market

Key takeaways

Red lentils are one of the most supply-concentrated traded pulses in the world, with Canada and Australia together controlling the majority of global exports. Yet price direction is set less by supply than by Indian import policy — making this a market where regulatory intelligence is as important as crop monitoring.

For procurement teams sourcing red lentils across South Asia and the Middle East, the ability to track Indian mandi prices, Canadian crop progress, Australian harvest estimates, and Indian tariff developments simultaneously is a genuine competitive requirement. Platforms like Hectar are designed to bring exactly this kind of multi-origin, policy-aware intelligence into one place, helping buyers time their purchases and manage origin selection through a market that reprices rapidly around annual tariff decisions.